Very interesting that C seems to be such a constant. And far more constant even than its second place suggests, since six of the top eight languages use a syntax based on it (Java, PHP, C++, C#, and JavaScript), not to mention Objective-C. C is the bedrock.

Objective-C seems to be coming on crazy strong. It has been around forever, but Apple’s interest is giving it a boost. Apple’s interest alone, though, will only get it so far.

Java and C# are here to stay, and for good reason. They’re strongly typed, object oriented, have great libraries and manage some of the hard stuff for you.

C++, my language of choice, seems to be slipping. I’m not concerned. I’m convinced that the C++ compiler is the most powerful software development tool ever. When managing complexity and maximizing performance are crucial, C++ is it.

I’m glad Python is doing well. It’s a great scripting language with a great set of libraries. I think it’s overcoming Perl’s passionate and loyal following. (I admit: one of my career goals is avoiding learning Perl. And I think I just might make it.)

JavaScript is crucial to know, too: every browser runs it. It’s as ubiquitous as the web.

For the record, my proficiencies, in my best-guess order: C++, C, Java, C#, Python, JavaScript, Visual Basic.

PS: The TIOBE Index isn’t to be taken as gospel.

What’s your most controversial programming opinion?

(Via Gadgetopia.)

I get some of my best ideas when I step away from the computer for a few hours and carry on with life (letting the problem mull over in the back of my mind). Maybe you’ve experienced this, too.

If software is much more about good ideas than BFI (and I’m convinced that it is), then stepping away from the computer is a wonderful thing all around.

And ten whole megabytes! I figured I could type non-stop for decades before I filled it up. How cool was that?

Times have changed, haven’t they?

Update, 3/18 – Full disclosure, FYI: 105 GB of the disk space you see are consumed by virtual hard disks across 14 VMWare virtual machines.

It’s interesting how many programs now come up underneath it. Commercial packages with large user bases. I’m sure they mind the task bar when it’s at the bottom of the screen, but not here.

While it’s not a big deal (to me at least–just a tiny annoyance), it shows how we make implicit assumptions about our world. Sometimes those assumptions are fine. Sometimes not.

I’ve made plenty myself.

Also, I’ve not encountered a program that refuses to run or throws itself off the top or bottom of the screen because of this. That’s a possibility. (I need to keep this in mind if I find a program behaving badly with its screen position.)

Here are a few shots of my makeshift office in the New York Subway system. Not the most productive or ergonomically correct environment.

The chair is a life-saver. Under $6 from Target, it collapses into a bag slung across the shoulder.

Here’s a view from the seat. Fifteen feet from the track.

Yes, a very active track…

I wrote about it here.

More serious than Y2K, since all such clocks will roll over. If you recall, with Y2K it was primarily whether the programmer used two-digit years or accounted for the 1999-2000 transition some other way.

Similarly to Y2K, only those computers making decisions based on the clock/calendar will be affected. For instance, your car won’t since it doesn’t care (or even know) what day it is.

Another similarity: we can easily categorize calendar problems from severe (loss of life) to nuisance to trivial. For instance, if some cash register receipts (or even bank statements) read 1970, that’s unlikely to cause mass insanity/hysteria.

Our best bet is that all such legacy systems will have retired by then. And that’s not too bad a bet, either.

The TIOBE Programming Community Index has declared Python as the Programming Language of 2007 due to a 58% surge in its popularity rating during the year, making it now the sixth most popular programming language and finally surpassing Perl. They also assert that Python has become the “defacto glue language,” being “especially beloved by system administrators and build managers.”

One of my goals in life is to never learn Perl. I had a few close calls over the years, but now I think I just might make it.

When I need to write a script, I use bash for the simpler stuff and Python for the more complicated. I used to be able to write stupefying sed/awk scripts, but now I’ll do that in Python, too.

Btw, the TIOBE link above tries to gage programming languages’ popularity, though carefully qualifying it: “Observe that the TIOBE index is not about the best programming language…”

Even though the actual sampling rate for G.722 audio is 16,000 Hz, the RTP clock rate for the G722 payload format is 8,000 Hz because that value was erroneously assigned in RFC 1890 and must remain unchanged for backward compatibility.

Ouch. Even Internet RFC’s aren’t immune to errors, and backward compatibility will always be with us.